Talent development has three levels, says former head of UNESCO training agency

Young talent is, of course, essential. But it’s also important to look at the inter-generational dimension of learning—how you pass knowledge, skills, and culture from older workers to younger ones. This develops in young people the capacity to be an independent learner, and learn throughout one’s life.

We are adopting a three-dimensional approach, intervening at three levels. First, when it comes to policy development, we work with countries to assist them in developing comprehensive, holistic lifelong learning policies, including looking at the role of technology in facilitating and developing access to lifelong learning.

The second component is about building capacity. In particular, we have ministries of education and other concerned ministries, but we also have civil society. We do that through the development of learning materials and the organization of capacity development programs, both in person and online. This is precisely where we are developing this new partnership with Huawei, and we are glad to benefit from not only the expertise in technologies of Huawei, but also the expertise in terms of ICT Academies and the expertise that you have in organizing such programs.

Finally, the third level is research and knowledge production. To give you an example, we are currently finalizing research on the use of emerging technologies for adult education. That includes artificial intelligence, VR, AR, as well as blockchain. We are looking at how new technologies are changing the game in the field of adult education and lifelong learning.

Click here to see the full interview with David Atchoarena on Transform Talks.